Japan Worries Death of Centrifuge Could Hinder Future Work With U.S.

摘要

A senior government official here said cancellation of the international space station's Japanese-built centrifuge module, an option under consideration at NASA, could severely undermine the public's confidence in Japan's space program and make it more difficult to pursue cooperative projects with the United States. "If the centrifuge is not launched, politicians and people will question the role that Japan has played in the international space station," Masanori Shinano, director of Space Utilization and Promotion with Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said March 25. The ministry oversees most Japanese space programs.